The Old Things Still Roam
by Titans R Us
Summary: There are things, ancient things that didn't go away in this electric modern time. They still live. They still hunt. They're still here and if you look too deep in the night or in the fog...you might stumble across a world you never imagined. You might get involved with something great and terrible. Just like Kaoru did.


Kaoru is staring to think her roommate's opinion about the sanity of marathoners may be right. They have none.

Why else would she be jogging through inversion so thick she can just barely make out the sidewalk? At 5:00 no less where city dips into a valley. To be fair the smog merges with the fog rolling from the lake. She must be mad.

Kaoru pulls her dark long hair out of her jacket and regrets the plan already. Misao, the practical sloth, would be joining her in an hour at the valley's cross roads. "When it's not screw me over **I-CAN'T-SEE** o'clock in the morning." Misao snarled when Kaoru tried to rip off the covers from her. Misao is not the best running buddy, but she does show up usually to humor Kaoru.

Now Kaoru wishes she had stayed in bed too.

The cold sinks into skin and freezes what sweat she's able to generate. The fog is ever present. Sometimes it flows deeper and the traffic lights disperse brighter making the visibility worse. She hates crossing intersections the most because any moment a car could...

It's nerve wracking.

Like a downpour, it could be romantic...if you're inside. Kaoru pauses at the shape of a tree and stares. The streetlight bathes the tree in orange and its shadows flicker through the foggy rays. The air is that thick. Dark fingers stretch through the light and Kaoru can't tell if it's beautiful or eerie.

Another poor soul inches by in their car. They must have been desperate to impress their boss to travel in this. Or maybe it's something personal? Thankful that it's a Saturday, Kaoru waits until the car passes. It's headlights the only thing as it jerks back and forth. Slow, push push, _slow_ , **push**. Staying within the lines is tricky. Kaoru is determined to wait until the car is fully gone.

There have been too many close calls. And she is made up of bitter bone and soft flesh.

The headlights are almost lost when their reflection swerves. Sharply. A loud, scratchy _screech_ reaches Kaoru through the mist. **Oh God.** _Did they hit something?_ That could have been the tires or what if that's the engine? The headlights of the car haven't moved, but Kaoru runs when she hears that horrible noise again.

 _Towards the car._

She stumbles trying to get her phone out, the mist curling around her racing form. What if someone's hurt? What if someone's...dead. A shiver wracks her body, not the cold this time. She has to see. She has to know if she needs to call 911.

It takes a while to reach the car. Kaoru is surprised to make out how far it went off road. Pass the sidewalk, into what must be a ravine. The weeds are dense, as her tennis shoes clump with mud trying to find the path the car must have taken.

An engine stutters, the rough purr of an older model. At least the headlights are closer now. It must be a custom made car; the headlights are thin, huge almonds that blaze a rich gold. She's never seen headlights like that before, but whatever.

"ARE YOU OKAY?" She yells and the sound echoes. "DO I NEED TO CALL AN AMBULANCE?"

The body of the car is longer than she expected. It's definitely been customized; the orange paint in some kind of fancy design that makes it look textured. 3D. She pats the armored side, _dear heaven_ it's hot, did the car overheat? Kaoru can't find the door handle but she does find something sticky, viscous.

Blood.

Where's the body, _oh GOD_ , that's a lot of blood. What if it's more than one person? Her shoe makes a crunch and she slowly...looks down.

It's a deer. A very gross and definitely dead deer.

Oh. The pieces start to come together as she realizes what must have happened. Where the blood must have come from. The car shudders next to her and she finally hears a crunch that Kaoru didn't make.

"HELLO?"

The sound of something large is coming from the front of the car.

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

She carefully makes her way around the deer, around the car to approach maybe a shocked driver in the light.

The headlights **blink.**

One after another. She snaps to the center, startled, afraid. Moist hot breath presses against her legs.

It wasn't a car.

* * *

Notes: So what do think it was?


End file.
